Author: HatefulRodeo

Story: Worth More Than That

Notes: This chapter is mostly transitional with a bit of plot and we will be in Draco's POV this chapter. Thanks to all that fav'd, followed and/or reviewed! Enjoy Lovelies!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I will make no money from the posting of this fic.

Previously:

Standing Draco smiled at Nancy, he was glad to know her name now; "Well Nancy I hope you have a good rest of the day." The willowy brunette smiled brightly; "You as well Lord Malfoy and thank you for the food. All of us here thank you actually."

Draco waved her off; "It was nothing; you all are working on a Sunday after all, it was the least I could do." Making his way out of the office Draco said goodbye one last time to Nancy and floo'd home to Malfoy Manor; maybe he would have dinner with Theo at home tonight, his mother would enjoy the company and Draco could tell her about assuming the Malfoy Lordship.

Yes, that sounded perfectly lovely. Pansy and Blaise would love to come as well but maybe next time. Draco wanted it to be Theo, Narcissa and himself this time around; his mother would want to subtly interrogate the Nott Lord about his intentions towards her baby and Draco would rather she not in front of Pansy and Blaise.

Plan set he strolled to find his mother to fill her in on the new pan for dinner tonight; life was getting better and better for him.

~~~~~~~~************Chapter 6***********~~~~~~~~

It was seamless; Theo just seemed to fit into Draco's life as if he was always meant to be there. HIs mother was so pleased that her baby boy had found someone to make him happy and take care of him. That this man was also a Lord to a Noble House was a plus in Narcissa's book.

The blonde Malfoy Lord knew his mother could care less at this point about blood purity or someone's social status; lessons from the war were hard learned but they stuck with the two remaining Malfoys like glue. It made Draco feel content that his lover fit in with his little family which consisted of Blaise, Pansy and his mother.

That Theo was already friends with Blaise and Pansy eased the transition for Draco's friends. His two most precious friends were elated that Draco was becoming more like his old self; the slim male was smiling again, going out into the world and positively flying through his potions mastery. All in all things were returning to normal for the Malfoy family.

Tonight Draco would make his first true public appearance as Theo's lover; true they did go out for dinner and drinks but they never publicly acknowledged what everyone suspected. But tonight they would, Theo was keeping up to his promise of taking Draco to a Ministry ball.

The ball was being held as a fundraiser for St. Mungos; the hospital had not taken any damage in the war but with all the casualties they were stretched thin financially and in qualified personnel. Tonight they would try to raise money for more Healers and also to extend their training department.

It was an honorable cause and Draco already sent in his donation of three thousand galleons; It was seen as gauche to throw ones money around in public. Besides Draco did not want the recognition, he didn't need, the blonde just wanted to do something good for the sake of doing something good.

A kiss to his temple brought him out of his musings, turning from his desk Draco saw his taller lover looking at him in amusement; "Drifting in your thoughts?" The blonde just smiled and stood to give Theo a quick kiss, pulling away he took in the time and noticed he only had an hour to be ready.

"I think I'll head up to get ready and dress. Do you think you can keep yourself occupied while I'm gone?" Theo pouted but rolled his eyes; "I think I'll manage Draco, now shoo so we won't be late. I want everyone to see my gorgeous lover."

A little blush flittered across Draco's cheeks, with a nod the smaller man ducked out of his study and went to his room to dress. Another positive development was Theo's constant presence at the Manor, the man slept more here than he did at his own home, not that Draco was complaining at all.

It was wonderful to go to sleep and wake up in Theo's arms, to feel safe and protected. That was what he wanted and he almost slapped himself for settling into the tawdry routine of being Snape's little whore. He had not interacted with Severus since the night of his and Theo's first date; Draco did see the older man in Diagon Alley occasionally and if looks could kill the blonde would be seven feet down.

But he wouldn't think of Severus right now, not when he was enjoying the feeling of being irrepressibly happy. Two months ago he and Theo went on their first date and even then Draco knew they had something special, something that would be good for the both of them.

Slipping into his rooms the blonde occupied himself with a shower and putting his outfit for the night; since it was formal occasion they would be wearing suits under their over robe. Draco selected a suit in light grey, it highlighted his bright eyes, while the button up shirt was white accompanied with an emerald green tie which complimented his emerald cashmere over robe.

Draco thought he looked quite fetching in his new outfit; Pansy really did know what looked good on him it seemed. Now he just needed to slip on his black hand crafted Italian leather shoes and he would be set to go and wow the people at the event.

But he couldn't lie to himself; he was a bit nervous about being in the same room with so many of his former enemies. Draco had no animosity for anyone any longer and he hoped others would be respectful towards him just as he would be cordial towards them but one could never know.

Well all he could do was comport himself with dignity and respect and if others couldn't then to hell with them, besides he had Theo with him and Draco knew his taller lover would not abide anyone being cruel or rude to him. Oh yes Theodore Nott was a man to be reckoned with and not many wanted to cross him; that fact made Draco swoon even more.

Making the final adjustments to his clothes Draco made his way back to the sitting room where he left his lover, finding him chatting with a very well dressed Blaise and Pansy; damn had he forgotten they were going together?! Apparently he had but no worries, walking forward he placed a kiss to Pansy's cheek and hugged Blaise in greeting.

When the greetings were finished they made their way to the receiving room where Theo wrapped a muscled arm around Draco's slim waist and told Blaise and Pansy he would see them at the Ministry. With a crack Draco was apparated along with his lover to the Ministry's receiving room; the room was already filled with arriving guests and Theo took Draco's hand to lead him out of the way so no one apparating in would crush them.

Once outside the two blondes waited for Blaise and Pansy, who arrived with two minutes so the wait was not long. Theo squeezed Draco still clasped hand and began to lead them toward one of the Ministry's larger ballrooms; the decor of the room was impressive even Draco had to concede that. The large hall was lit with floating white candles, allowing a soft glow to fill the cavernous room.

Two large crystal chandeliers added additional light in the center of the room while the tall windows were decorated with powder blue curtains, the same blue as a Healer robes. Draco noticed most of the decorations were wither blue or white and he assumed it was to pay homage to why they were there; to raise funds for St. Mungos.

Almost immediately they were swept into conversation, well Theo was anyway. Draco just smiled and greeted people politely while Theo spoke about business or investments. The blonde didn't mind not being in the spotlight, he didn't mind that Theo was getting the attention, Draco was just happy he was here with his lover who wasted no time in introducing Draco as his lover to anyone he spoke to.

He loved that Theo was not embarrassed by him or ashamed that he was in a relationship with him. It made his heart sore with happiness but after a while Draco got bored with the dry chat about galleons and their worth against the Euro. Pressing a quick kiss to Theo's cheek Draco excused himself to seek out Pansy for a chat.

It appeared that Draco and Theo were separated at some point from Blaise and Pansy but no doubt he would find them somehow; Blaise was so tall it wasn't hard to spot the man in a crowd.

However, before he could find his friends he was drug into a small nook, when the person was done dragging him around Draco wrenched his arm away to glare at the offending arse. The harsh words he was ready to hurl at the moron slipped off his tongue when he made eye contact with Severus Snape.

Severus began to speak, taking advantage of Draco's shock and subsequent silence; "Now Draco why are you here with Mr. Nott? Did you not know you are mine? I think you've made your point now it is time to end this charade and for you to know your place."

Draco just stared at the man in front of him; was he serious? Draco assumed he was and he would be damned if he allowed Severus to slander what he had with Theo or to try and act like Draco was a naughty child; "Fuck you Snape! You know why I'm here with Theo; I'm here with Theo because he is my lover!"

"Yours? I am not yours and I never will be again! Why don't you return to Potter and enjoy the rest of your evening Snape. As I said before I have nothing to say to you so if you will excuse me I have to go." Draco tried to slip past the taller man but a harsh hand gripped his upper arm, squeezing hard, causing Draco to gasp in slight pain.

"Let me go Severus!" A sneer erupted into the man's usually blank face; "No, it is time you learned your place little Dragon; you are mine, mine to fuck and leave as I please. Now are you going to act accordingly or am I going to have to force you?" The blonde just looked at the older man, the man he used to trust and love more than anything and realized the man must be mad.

Absolutely mad to be saying what he was saying, maybe all the years of being Crucio'd finally got to Snape's sanity. Realizing this would not end well Draco called for his wand and cast a mild stinging hex to Snape's groin before the other man could react. A gasp of pain let Draco know his hex had connected where he wanted it to, not wasting time the blonde swept back into the ballroom.

He found Theo quickly and his lover noticed his date's distress quickly even though no one else would; "What's the matter Draco? you look like you've seen a ghost." The grey eyed male just looked into Theo's sapphire eyes and hoped his partner would understand that he could not speak of it at the moment.

A nod was all Theo gave to show he understood but his eyes sharpened when he saw the way Severus Snape was glaring at Draco's back. The blonde just sunk into his taller lover's warmth and enjoyed the feeling of being safe and away from his mad ex-sex partner. After tonight he would have to tell the Nott Lord exactly what was going on, or what had been going on, between Severus and him.

The rest of the night past by in a blur for Draco, he answered questions on automatic and stayed pressed to Theo's side, not letting the taller male out of his sight for long. He really was afraid Severus would so something stupid even with a room full of people, including Harry Potter but it seems Snape was backing off for the moment.

Theo finally extracted himself from a very tedious conversation and murmured to Draco that he thought it was time for them to go. The slender male just nodded happily, quite tired and ready to go home and lay down with Theo; "Alright then, whenever you're ready Theo."

The taller blonde clasped Draco's hand and his and led them back to the receiving room, within ten minutes they were back at Malfoy Manor and in Draco's suite's sitting room. Once they were dressed in their night robes Theo pulled Draco into his lap and nuzzled his hair; "What was the matter at the party? You seemed distraught; don't worry no one else noticed."

Well that was something, at least he hadn't made an ass out of himself in front of anyone other than Theo; "You remember I told you before we started dating that I was coming out of a bad relationship?" A nod showed Draco that his lover was listening; "Well it was Severus Snape and it was stupid, I was stupid and naive."

"I thought if I gave him all od me he would love me and leave Harry but he never did. He used me for sex and then left me to my own devices. I thought I loved him but now I realize it was a sick type of dependence and now that I'm with you I see what love can be like and I hate myself for settling."

"For letting a man who didn't deserve my love use me for seven months. The reason I'm telling you now is Severus is not taking me leaving him well, the night of our first date he snuck in here and ambushed me. I called my elf and had him removed and the wards changed."

"Since then I have not spoken to him but tonight he drug me into an alcove and told me he was tired of me acting like this and it was time for me to come back to him and ditch you. I told him, in so many words, to fuck off and I wasn't leaving you for anything. When I tried to leave he grabbed me, I hexed his groin and found you as soon as I could."

By the time he was done with his explanation Draco's eyes were watery and his face was pressed into the crook of Theo's neck; he was afraid that his lover would think he was disgusting and wouldn't want anything to do with him now that he knew who Draco was seeing before him.

Theo's large hands coming to massage his lower back soothed the fearful blonde, raising his head he locked eyes with Theo, feeling his heart surge when he saw the anger and love shining in Theo's eyes; "That son of a botch hurt you?" Draco merely nodded and showed Theo is upper arm which was sporting a hand shaped bruise.

A growl left the large male; "I think we should get a restraining order against him; this isn't the first time he had tried to corner you and I dare say he would be here now if you had not changed the wards." Draco nodded; "I did consider it but I don't have a lot of proof that he a threat to me and he is Severus Snape; hero of the war and spy for the Light."

"I wasn't sure anyone would believe me." Theo looked thoughtful for a moment; "How about we sleep now Draco and tomorrow we can discuss plans to keep you safe and Severus Snape away from you. Out of curiosity does your mother know?" Draco blanched; "No, no my mother doesn't know anything about it. I don't know if I want her to."

Theo just stared at Draco for a moment before a look of understand crossed his face; "You know love your mother loves you and there is nothing you can do to change that right? I doubt this information would make her upset with you maybe Narcissa would be upset that you had not told her but not that you had a relationship with Snape."

"I'll think about telling her alright but can we just go to bet tonight. I'm tired and I just want to go to bed and deal with the rest of this nonsense tomorrow." Theo's response was silent but enjoyable nonetheless and Draco didn't even fight being swept into his larger lover's arms and carried to bed.

Tonight they would sleep and tomorrow they would make arrangements for Draco to never have to interact with Severus Snape.

Yup Severus is an ass and I have plans for him in the future!

Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and next chapter you will have slash; it might actually be the last chapter, not sure though.

All Mistakes Are My Own!